LDNGuide
The 28 Best Brunches In London
Trying to figure out where the eggs, sourdough, and french toast are? Here are the best brunches in London.
You’re rising from your slumber on a Saturday morning. You may or may not be hungover. You’re craving… something… something… with eggs and potato and meat but also rocket, and maybe some chilli and lemon, also chocolate. Coffee, a coffee. And a freshly pressed juice. You need brunch.
Brunch is our favourite hybrid meal—even more so than brinner—because it’s a very specific need that’s fulfilled by a seemingly random array of delicious ingredients. When else do you get to eat confit pork, poached eggs, avocado, and shoestring fries? How often do you get to eat fried chicken, potato röstis, maple syrup, and a fried egg?
There are a lot of brunch options to choose from in London so we’ve written this guide, split by areas, to help you when you need to find the perfect brunch spot.
Central
Christopher’s may very well have the best french toast in London. There, we said it. Thick brioche with a soft gooey centre, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and more melted chocolate—this is the reason you come here. But that’s not all this two-floor American restaurant opposite the Lyceum in Covent Garden has to offer. It’s got high ceilings, round tables with white tablecloths, and a menu filled with things like lobster mac and cheese, wagyu burgers (which is definitely an acceptable brunch), and Texas grill complete with sausages and hash browns.
The theme at this charming Victoria bakery is ‘international baking’, which means you’ll find a selection of breads from around the world. Bagels, monkey bread, focaccia, ka’ak, and more, served both plain and stuffed with things like halloumi and roasted tomatoes, or pastrami and pickles. There are also inventive pastries like a za’atar and gruyère croissant, or an aubergine parmigiana-filled number, which can be hit and miss depending on how soon you catch them after they’re baked. But the most important thing about this place is the excellent flatbread on their clay oven menu. Topped with delicious combinations like merguez and garlic aioli, or burrata and honey, these breads are what make this spot worth going out of your way for.
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Starting your day with peanut butter and banana-heavy french toast just because you can is what life is all about, because making that decision will lead you to places like Popina. This little Mayfair spot has scrambled eggs and all the other usual culprits on the menu, but there are some exciting alternatives that you should get involved in, from their house special ranchos with lime guacamole to the green shakshuka and raclette cheese melt. And that’s not all. The french toast section—yes, a whole section—includes a Nutella marshmallow melt that sounds just as good as it tastes.
Your old mate is in town and they’ve come expecting to see Cara Delevingne and Snap the whole bloody thing to show off to their friends at home. You, on the other hand, can’t be arsed. Take them to Chiltern Firehouse in Marylebone for a trendy brunch, where they’ll love the pretty garden and fancy person vibe, and you’ll still get a very good breakfast out of it too. Order some pancakes and enjoy the fact that the waiters will make you feel as though you have a trust fund, because they probably assume you do. Don’t spend it all at once, which is easily possible here.
Breakfast at The Wolseley is definitely an occasion. Between the soaring ceilings (the St James’s spot used to be a classic car showroom) and shiny tableware, it might all be a bit much to take in if you’re still feeling a bit bleary. But the food is excellent and everything from the pastries to the omelette Arnold Bennett (eggs with smoked haddock) is worth the price. Save it for an occasion, a big time breakfast with a potential client, or when your mum’s visiting—and be sure to remind her about it the next time you forget Mother’s Day.
North
When you commit to brunch at Dobar, you commit to waiting in a queue. Whether that’s 10 minutes or half an hour really depends on how early you get there, but just know that there is always a wait at this walk-in only cafe. But waiting in line is absolutely worth it for the XXL brunches you’ll get at this Green Lanes spot. Whether it’s the hearty full English that arrives in a skillet pan, or the fluffy french toast covered in Nutella and fruit, this is the right way to start a Saturday. Or a Tuesday, or a Wednesday. Or any day for that matter. If this was our local, we’d likely be here at least once a week.
Dishoom serves one of the best brunches in London, and is a power move if you want to both please a crowd and sound like you know things. Things about brunch. We particularly like hitting the King’s Cross location—the brightest and airiest—for Anglo-Indian dishes like eggs on chilli cheese toast. The bacon naan is justifiably famous, but don’t miss out on the spicy scrambled eggs.
Caravan is one of London’s original brunch destinations. Although they take their coffee very seriously (even roasting their own beans), they also have a solid menu full of things like baked eggs with merguez sausage and jalapeño cornbread. There are a handful of locations around town but their King’s Cross space is the best. It’s an old, massive warehouse and can fit half of Central St Martins in it or outside on its huge Granary Square-facing terrace. But it does still get rammed at the weekend. The earlier you show up, the better.
When you have a hangover or just want a nice breakfast near Angel, you go to Kipferl. It’s a cosy Austrian coffeehouse that predictably gets jammed at the weekend, so the earlier you can get there, the better. They’ll do you a comforting breakfast to soothe your pounding head, and they also have some excellent cakes if you just want a snack. One of the best things on the menu is the Bauernfrühstück (sort of an Austrian equivalent of a full English), so order with confidence.
The best pancakes in Islington can be found at Sunday. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, Sunday is always packed at the weekend with people after those pancakes. Queues can be over an hour long, even in the middle of the afternoon. Having said that, we often suck it up and wait in line for excellent versions of things like brioche french toast and chicken and waffles. It’s worth it.
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If you’re a Stokey resident and you haven’t been to Esters then we’re about to change your life. If you’re from anywhere else and you haven’t been, the same applies. Esters is a little cafe off Church Street serving what we think are the best brunches in London. The menu changes daily but it’s always very creative and very good. Think french toast with whipped ricotta and cranberries, or poached eggs with charred cabbage, chorizo, and pistachios on toast. This is not your average brunch. It’s a no-booking, no-way-to-avoid-the-queue thing, but get there bright and early and you’ll be fine. Either way, it’s worth it.
East
First and foremost Ozone is a coffee shop. But limiting it to just that feels like a serious understatement. Ozone Coffee and Food Emporium would feel more accurate. Located in a big old space on Leonard Street, Ozone is an excellent brunch choice if you’re around Old Street or Shoreditch. Their menu is massive but in a very good way. It ranges from pancakes with apple and butterscotch to smoked haddock kedgeree with a poached egg. Again, it’s pretty popular on the weekends but it’s all about timing. This is as far from your average coffee shop as you can imagine.
You know the usual brunch spots—the tables are packed together, it’s loud, and the waiter will probably forget at least one of the things you ordered. The Spitalfields location of Ottolenghi, our favorite of the outposts around town, is the opposite of that. It’s a calming, minimal place to grab something in the morning, and all of the food is great. The shakshuka here is legendary and you should also get the sweetcorn and polenta cakes with a poached egg. You’ll also want to book ahead.
Hand Café is in London’s very own East Village. While that name may once have been associated with the counterculture, this one is very much an example of conscious-culture. Tasteful shops and restaurants installed in the bottom of glass new builds. It’s all very Sims-y. But you know what, who cares when Hand Café is there? This Greek-ish brunch spot is easily one of the best places we’ve eaten in in recent memory. Spiced chickpeas with eggs and bread. Killer toasties. The obligatory baked eggs. It’s a 10-minute walk from Westfield, so if you’re unlucky enough to be there, find solace here.
Morito’s location on Hackney Road makes it feel like a neighbourhood spot, but once you’re inside, it’s immediately clear that it’s the kind of place that would murder the competition anywhere it opened. It’s always busy because the food is top-to-bottom fantastic. You’ll find a Mediterranean/North African twist on brunch, and it’s a good way to break the habit of standard avocado toast spots. The poached eggs with spinach and chilli butter is a must-order and the bougatsa—a Cretan filo pastry with fresh cheese, sugar, and cinnamon—is very good as well. Get there early or be prepared for a wait.
The Tram Store joins the ever-growing list of converted east London warehouses you’d love to loathe, but, in fact, love to love because they’re great. And what use was a tram depot anyway? There’s a 'carpenter who decided to become a botanist' thing going on, but, jokes aside, the brunch offerings are great. Portobello mushrooms in cashew (yes, cashew) cream on slabs of sourdough is delicious, plus you can add eggs. While ‘Clapton rarebit’ should be something to be scoffed at, instead you’ll just want to scoff it.
On the surface, a US-style diner in Dalston might sound like an awful concept dreamed up by someone with a trust fund and nobody who will tell them the truth. But Hash E8 is actually one of our favourite spots in the area for brunch because they make very tasty food that also happens to be perfect for smashing after a heavy night of drinking. True to the diner theme, you’ll find filter coffee and classics like french toast, pancakes, and a chorizo and sweet potato hash that will cure what ails you. And not an avocado in sight. That’s a concept we can get behind.
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South
A small Lebanese bakery slap bang in the middle of Fulham Road, Ta'mini makes excellent pastries. Their counter is full of freshly baked fatayer (a bready pastry with anything from minced meat to a tangy sumac-heavy spinach filling), and the menu of all-day manakish is perfect for a satisfying brunch. The bakery is bright and compact, with a small group table inside and a couple of tables out front. If you manage to get a spot on a weekend, know that you’ll be eating one of the best brunches in Fulham.
In an area filled with excellent brunch options, this North African cafe on Balham High Road is the one that will have you searching for flats in SW12. A cosy spot that’s often packed on the weekend, this is the place to come for an excellent halal full English. Just about everything on the menu that includes the roasted seasoned potatoes is a winner, but stick with the full English—it comes with enough of those little fried bites to ensure you won’t run out while you work your way through the rest of the plate. With grilled mushrooms, beans, a halal beef sausage, halal turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs, you won’t be needing another meal for a while. Except maybe the Moroccan msemmen for dessert.
Juliet’s is the kind of exceptional brunch spot that makes us desperate for a condiment WikiLeaks just so we can find out exactly what’s in their 10/10 hangover sauce. It's located on a busy stretch in Tooting and you can expect big, balanced flavours, top-quality produce, and a sensational pork patty bun that is basically the breakfast butty in its ultimate form. The space is casual and a touch industrial, but it’s still perfect for a coffee date, a low-key catch-up, or just soothing a biblical hangover over one of the best omelettes London has to offer.
Putney getting a cool little coffee shop is like giving somebody who’s already rich a suitcase full of money. They already have plenty of nice things, so it seems a bit unfair that they get more. But we’re not the jealous types and are happy to say that the coffees here are solid and you can also get a good plate of poached eggs, avocado toast, or pancakes. It’s a busy place to sit so you might have to share a communal table with other human beings, but as long as you’ve still got that suitcase of money, you’ll probably get along just fine.
Milk is an outstanding place for brunch and among the best in Balham when it comes to food. There will be a wait at weekends, though staff will bring coffee while you queue and it’s a very nice place to sit outside and people watch when it’s warm. When you do get a table, everything’s made with the same attention to detail that most restaurants reserve for fancy dinners—the banana pancakes with maple and pecan are killer, and even the sourdough with goats’ cheese and honey is something special.
Sometimes the brunches of London all just merge into one big foggy memory of fried eggs. So if you’re tired of turning up to brunch every Saturday only to discover another menu that appears to be holding a social experiment called How Many Ways Can You Smash An Avocado, then we’d like to introduce you to The Apple Blue. Although this cute little Balham spot has still got those avocado bases covered, it’s also home to Dutch babies. They’re essentially an XXL vehicle for fried chicken that is part pancake and part Yorkshire pudding. We promise this maple syrup-topped carb-fest will help you avoid any brunch deja vu. The iced Korean coffee is also a real winner.
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West
The phrase ‘this is nice isn’t it’ is guaranteed to be said by at least one member of your brunch group if you head to Beam on Westbourne Grove. Maybe they’re referring to the hanging lights or the exposed brick. Maybe it’s the spaciousness of it all. Or maybe it’s the brunch menu that includes shakshuka, a halal full English, and Nutella-filled doughnuts. We’ll tell you—it’s all of the above. This spot is walk-in only and open until 6pm everyday, which is helpful if you only manage to get out of bed at 3.30pm.
If you’ve ever had manakeesh, you’ll understand how important it is that this Lebanese bakery serves them until 10pm. And they’re not any old manakeesh, but some of the best in London. The brunch at this Acton spot isn’t limited by time and you aren’t judged for rocking up at 4pm in need of some doughy, meaty goodness. You can head there at 1pm on a Sunday for a platter of minced meat and cheese, or spinach and cheese manakeesh, and it’ll be just as good as when you come at 7pm on a Wednesday. Basically, what we’re trying to say is, whatever time of day it is, get the manakeesh.
Notting Hill is one of London’s prettiest neighbourhoods and a lovely place to have brunch here is at Farm Girl. This cafe goes all-in on the Aussie healthy eating, up to the point where you might find yourself eating “coconut bacon.” That’s not something we would typically condone, but we actually find all of the food here to be quite good. And we’re not the only ones—Farm Girl is pretty much always mobbed.
Milk Beach
This one goes out to all of our AM sweet tooths out there. If your brunch priority is making your way through a sugary peach spritz and several pastries then you’ll be into Milk Beach. This all-day spot in Queen’s Park has got those savoury crowd-pleasers covered, but our favourite thing is the sweet and crunchy granola with seasonal fruit and fresh yoghurt. Combine with a St. John doughnut or a slice of banana bread for peak sugar high potential.
Sometimes we like to throw caution to the wind, ignore whatever doom and gloom our weather app is offering up, and commit to an alfresco brunch. And when that urge strikes in west London, we make our way to Proud Mary’s. A cosy neighbourhood cafe in Shepherd’s Bush that has that whole ‘Aussie brunch’ thing going on, it’s perfect for an optimistically sunny Saturday morning spent chatting over classics like pancakes and eggs benedict. They’ve also got great coffee from Ozone, freshly squeezed OJ, an excellent iced Milo, and some great vegan options too.
